Mets rumors: Disappointing start has Buck Showalter on hot seat

Buck Showalter was NL Manager of the Year with the New York Mets last season but he might not see 2024 with the club according to one MLB insider.

Make no mistake, we might be seeing the start of a turnaround for the New York Mets. After sweeping a doubleheader against the Guardians on Sunday, the club has now reeled off five straight wins, sweeping Cleveland after closing out a series against the Rays with a pair of victories.

If it’s just a flash in the pan, though, that’s bad news for Mets manager Buck Showalter.

MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required) did a proverbial temperature check on the managers throughout baseball and their seats with their respective clubs. And while he noted that things might be trending in the right direction in New York, he couldn’t help but note that “if the season ends badly” that Steve Cohen will make big changes, inferring that Showalter could be gone.

Mets rumors: Buck Showalter on hot seat after New York’s disappointing start

Even with the five-game run, the Mets still do have a ton of work to do. New York remains a full five games behind the rival Atlanta Braves in the NL East this season and the 25-23 record overall still has the club only a half-game clear of the Marlins.

On top of that, the shortocomings of the Mets is perhaps best highlighted by the fact that they still have a -14 run differential on the year. This, however, is why Rosenthal mentioned that Showalter now having both Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander healthy and in the rotation could be huge for his job security.

Having said that, Cohen’s aggressive nature that we’ve seen play out in terms of the roster construction in free agency could be a curse for Showalter’s future. With the money that he’s poured into the Mets in recent years, the fact of the matter is that anything short of a World Series appearance (or maybe even a win) could leave him looking for other options to manage the roster of All-Stars.

Showalter, admittedly, sits in a difficult position. The expectations placed upon the Mets were always going to be massive and hard to live up to. So after the rough start, it’s no wonder that there has been talk about his future in the job — and that his seat in that difficult position is getting hotter with every shortcoming and loss.